Danny Ainge not afraid of scrutiny for Celtics’ draft pick trade
“This is certainly a trade that is under the microscope more than others."
The No. 1 overall pick was traded for just the seventh time in NBA history before the start of the season on Monday when the Boston Celtics officially agreed to deal the top choice to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 3 overall pick and a future first-round pick.
The move means Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will almost certainly miss out on Markelle Fultz, a player believed to be the consensus No. 1 pick by most draft experts. That decision is certainly a risky one, but Ainge does not sound worried about second-guessing.
“This is certainly a trade that is under the microscope more than others,” Ainge said in a conference call on Monday afternoon. “But we’re not afraid of that. Our entire staff has really studied these guys and scouted them. We feel unanimously like this is the right move for us at this time and I have great faith in them. If there was a 50/50 split amongst our group, maybe there would be more hesitation, but I feel like we were able to resolve any questions that the whole staff had, and unanimously, we’re excited about this deal.”
Ainge’s main selling point for the deal is the belief he’s going to add an asset, plus a player to the Celtics’ roster that he wanted all along.
“I think even before the lottery, we’ve been evaluating these kids for a couple years, and we felt like it was very close with the top handful of players, and we still feel that way,” Ainge said. “We think there’s a really good chance the player we’ll take at 3 is the same player we would have taken at 1. So this was a great opportunity to acquire an impactful asset.”
With the No. 3 pick, the Celtics are rumored to be targeting Kansas forward Josh Jackson and Duke forward Jayson Tatum. Ainge is hoping the Celtics bring in Jackson for a private workout on Tuesday, while Tatum worked out for Boston in Waltham on Monday.
“I think they’re both terrific players,” Ainge said of Jackson and Tatum. “I’ll say that. But I don’t really want to get into any more details. Based on their workouts, I think I like both of those kids. I think they’re both terrific talents.”
Ainge has never shied away from dealing away a lottery draft pick (No. 7 in 2007, No. 5 in 2008), but he’s likely to face plenty of scrutiny on this decision for years to come. For the time being, Ainge is content with how the trade has turned out for both sides.
“We feel like it’s a jump-start for us,” Ainge said. “We’re getting the player we want. They’re getting the player they want. And we’ll get an additional player that we want in next year’s draft, or the year after. So I think it’s a good deal for both teams.”
